Vote for my new truck!!!

[HotRodK]

Just another opinion. If you have the patients, try to find an '03-'04 Ram/Cummins to look at. IMO they are the best looking of all the Rams, inside and out, and they have no emissions crap to worry about. They are rated at 305/555 and any of the tuners really wake them up. This is my 2nd, 3rd Gen, Cummins automatic and I have had zero issues with the tranny or drivetrain, so those who say the Dodge trannies suck are flat wrong on that point.
Lastly its hard to dispute 21mpg, highway, in a 7500#+ 4x4.

Good luck!:beer:

 

[Cobra Jet 429]

Just another opinion. If you have the patients, try to find an '03-'04 Ram/Cummins to look at. IMO they are the best looking of all the Rams, inside and out, and they have no emissions crap to worry about. They are rated at 305/555 and any of the tuners really wake them up. This is my 2nd, 3rd Gen, Cummins automatic and I have had zero issues with the tranny or drivetrain, so those who say the Dodge trannies suck are flat wrong on that point.
Lastly its hard to dispute 21mpg, highway, in a 7500#+ 4x4.

Good luck!:beer:

Hate to bust your bubble, but dodge trannies are shit.
My grandfather's 1500 with a 360 had blow it's tranny 4 times in 4 years.
Teacher of mine in high school, 2500 Cummins, blew the tranny 3 times in my 4 years of high school. Also ate 2 front axles.....
And not from wheeling or abuse, normal daily driving on the highway, to and from work, etc...
And I know many more people in the same boat.
So you may have had good luck, but there's alot of dodges out there that have blown not jsut one but several trannys.
It's better now that they offer the Allison.
But it's only in Cummins trucks.

 

[Root1022]

Just another opinion. If you have the patients, try to find an '03-'04 Ram/Cummins to look at. IMO they are the best looking of all the Rams, inside and out, and they have no emissions crap to worry about. They are rated at 305/555 and any of the tuners really wake them up. This is my 2nd, 3rd Gen, Cummins automatic and I have had zero issues with the tranny or drivetrain, so those who say the Dodge trannies suck are flat wrong on that point.
Lastly its hard to dispute 21mpg, highway, in a 7500#+ 4x4.

Good luck!:beer:

Ok saying that dodge trannys dont suck, is like saying a 5 dollars wont get you a rimjob from the local prostitute down the street. Dodge trannys do suck! However it was mainly in the 94-01 style 1500-2500 body style that had the most problems. I had 2 Ram 1500's and had to reuild them BOTH. However im not sure if diesels have a different tranny or not but you dont hear of many people having issues with the trannys in the diesels. Regular pickups are a different story though!

 

[NXSVTCOBRA]

cummins

what's that in your avatar?

 

[VirtualSVT]

Dude i just picked up a 2004 Ram 2500 reg cab long bed 4x4 with the Hemi.

I paid 9K for it with 80K on it. I threw some 35's on it and an intake, tuner and exhaust and its a fun truck to drive daily.

 

[Mike K]

what's that in your avatar?

I have been meaning to ask him to post pictures of it over on CoalRollers

 

[SID297]

Unless you are towing heavy and often and putting on a lot of miles I would not recommend a diesel. The added costs just don't seem to justify it to me.

The only Dodge I'd buy would be a 98 12v with a manual tranny. Then I'd pray I could keep the rest of the truck together.

 

[65fastback2+2]

7.3L psd.

our 97 F350 has 260k on it on the original turbo and trans....solid truck.

a friend of ours was one of the best diesel mechanics in the world (had a masters in diesel mechanics, flown several times to Australia and other countries to do seminars) and he drove a PSD

 

[Slw01Cobra]

95 to mid year 03 7.3l with a manual. You will not have to worry about the trans and the 7.3 will never let you down!!

 

[inuswo]

Get a lightning. You won't regret it.

It won't get as good of mileage as the 7.3 or 6.0 diesel, but if you buy built or when you do go built you'll see your mileage jump a bit. Two birds with one stone amirite?

They can tow just fine. I used mine for post Katrina cleanup, and pulled a moving trailer with the bed full of shite from Louisiana to So Cali and still averaged 14mpg.

They are terribly comfortable to drive. Unlike bigger trucks, you don't have to climb in. You just.. slide in. Especially if you're a taller guy. I'm 6'0, and it feels like this truck was made for my height. Nothing is out of reach, and nothing is so cramped that I'm banging elbows, head, or knees on things.

This says the rest.

Hagerty Insurance recently released its list of 10 cars that will be considered collectible in the future.

1. Ford Lightning
Its great combination of power and relatively small size make this one of the fastest trucks around.

Edit: They're a lot of fkin fun to drive around in too. Thats an understatement by a landslide.

 

[Epd711]

I own a 7.3 and its a beast. Cummins, good engine, but I think a powerstroke is just as good in my opinion.
My pops has a 2000 7.3 that just turned 410k, only thing done to it was oil changes and air filter changes. Heads never been taken off the engine or anything like that. Plus shes been loaded to the max since day one.
My vote is for the 7.3

 

[HotRodK]

Get a lightning. You won't regret it.

It won't get as good of mileage as the 7.3 or 6.0 diesel, but if you buy built or when you do go built you'll see your mileage jump a bit. Two birds with one stone amirite?

They can tow just fine. I used mine for post Katrina cleanup, and pulled a moving trailer with the bed full of shite from Louisiana to So Cali and still averaged 14mpg...

And they work sooo well in the dirt and mud at the dump, pulling 6,000# of debris. Come on man a Lightning is NOT a work truck.:nonono:

 

[NXSVTCOBRA]

Get a lightning. You won't regret it.

It won't get as good of mileage as the 7.3 or 6.0 diesel, but if you buy built or when you do go built you'll see your mileage jump a bit. Two birds with one stone amirite?

They can tow just fine. I used mine for post Katrina cleanup, and pulled a moving trailer with the bed full of shite from Louisiana to So Cali and still averaged 14mpg.

They are terribly comfortable to drive. Unlike bigger trucks, you don't have to climb in. You just.. slide in. Especially if you're a taller guy. I'm 6'0, and it feels like this truck was made for my height. Nothing is out of reach, and nothing is so cramped that I'm banging elbows, head, or knees on things.

This says the rest.




Edit: They're a lot of fkin fun to drive around in too. Thats an understatement by a landslide.

A lightning IMO is meant to be towed, not to tow.

I own a 7.3 and its a beast. Cummins, good engine, but I think a powerstroke is just as good in my opinion.
My pops has a 2000 7.3 that just turned 410k, only thing done to it was oil changes and air filter changes. Heads never been taken off the engine or anything like that. Plus shes been loaded to the max since day one.
My vote is for the 7.3

The 7.3 is a stout engine no doubt but compared to the Cummins it has it's major downfalls, when you look at parts, fuel economy, ease of working on, etc etc. Price a set of stock or aftermarket injectors for a Cummins, then price a set for a Ford. Catch my drift. I also think sadly that the Dodge has a better suspension and easier ride than Ford does, again same load just switching trucks and you can notice a difference. Especially with those headlights in the air on the Ford

 

[61mmstang94]

If I was shopping for a truck the only one on that list that I WOULDN'T consider would be the Lightning.

I would go for the F150 with one of the nicer interior/styling options like the King Ranch.